|
|
||
Suspected robber nabbed after three-hour search Date published: 11/10/2009
BY KEITH EPPS A suspected armed robber was taken into custody last night after leading police on a three-hour pursuit through woods and water, city police said. Rodney Quinn, 19, has been charged in the city in connection with the armed robbery yesterday at the Floor Shop at 2103 Jefferson Davis Highway. He also was charged in Friday's armed robbery Friday at the Dunning Mills Inn near the Floor Shop. In addition to these two charges, he was charged with two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Quinn also is suspected in four recent robberies in Spotsylvania. After yesterday's lengthy pursuit, Quinn was apprehended near the Dunkin' Donuts on Salem Church Road in Spotsylvania shortly after 5 p.m. Police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the man used to live in the Townsend Square apartment complex, in the same area of the city robberies. According to police, a female employee of the Floor Shop was confronted about 2:18 p.m. yesterday by a man with a gun. He took an undisclosed amount of money and left. The victim got a good clothing description and called police. Bledsoe said the first city officer was on the scene three minutes later and four nearby schools--Fredericksburg Christian, Sonshine Daycare, Walker- Grant Middle School and Lafayette Upper Elementary--were immediately put on lockdown. The same schools were locked down following Friday's robbery. Bledsoe said the schools were dismissed shortly after their normal times yesterday with officers stationed on hand. A city officer spotted the suspect running through the woods shortly after the call came in. Numerous officers, including Spotsylvania and Stafford deputies and state police, participated in the subsequent search, along with a state police helicopter and dogs. Bledsoe said the suspect basically followed a trail along Hazel Run while trying to escape. The path led him behind Fredericksburg Chris-tian School, along Kingwood subdivision in Spotsylvania and Idlewild in the city. He was spotted several times by police and by residents. A Kingswood resident called police after seeing the suspect and followed him for a while, Bledsoe said. The suspect fell into water a couple of times and was seen discarding his shirt at one point. He apparently also ditched the gun at some point, police said. Bledsoe said the public was particularly helpful in providing confirmed locations of the suspect, who ended up shirtless in the Salem Run division area in Spotsylvania. Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
the reverse 911 call....that's strange..Spotsylvania County informed me a reverse 911 WAS NOT sent out to anyone! Hmmmm? Why? They "are not sure". I am not condoning how the deputies handled the situation - I am asking why certain, common-sense procedures were not put in to place. Fredericksburg quickly locked down their schools - Spotsy made NO decisions based on the safety of the community. Yes, Battlefield Elem. delayed the departure of Kingswood buses, but only after parents phoned and informed them.
I used to do that JOB. Its not easy. I think you should contact your local agency and sit and see what really goes on. You have NO clue geez.. I think our agencies do great. Im sure you as well as most people couldnt do that JOB. Thanks for your opinion though..
its not that hard independent...its their JOB. you would hope all involved would be good at what they do...everyday...for their JOB. how complicated is answering a phone and then talking on a radio....
...I was referring to the school bus dispatcher notifying the buses not to enter the affected areas, not to putting an added burden on the police resources. I agree, too many people are never happy no matter what. Let's face it, an idiot with a gun decided robbing a flooring store (by the way, how many people carry a wad of cash in to get their living room redone anyway?) was easier than working honestly, etc...there was no possible outcome from that situation that is good...we got the best solution.
as a citizen of the city i think we should be thankful the crook was capured. the incident may have happened too late to even contact school transportation. i have kids myself and it is scary but come on people none of know what the agencies, officers or dispatcher go through in this type of situation. could you do their job i doubt some of you could. so lets just leave it up to the ones who are trained its easy to complain shouldve done this or that.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
